Cocking lever for medieval crossbows

A cocking lever for spanning a crossbow, in German also called a goat's foot lever. This practical lever belonged to the equipment of practically every crossbowman. The middle, movably mounted hook is being paced on the string, the rear legs pass to the sides of the crossbows body, where they hold on to projecting pins, the lever is moved backwards and the string becomes tensioned.  More information...